Greek and Roman Civilizations, Grades 5 - 8

I use some parts of this book every year in my world history class as a supplement to my units on Greece and Rome. Those two civilizations are the focus of my first semester and this workbook is a solid back-up resource. I note, however, in my opinion that this is best used as a back-up resource. It is not a complete unit on its own for a variety of reasons, including a lack of variety in its style and the near-complete lack of information on a variety of topics such as the Greek philosophers. This is a great filler on those days when you need to fill 20 minutes for a substitute teacher or when you need to focus in on a certain topic with a bit more depth. As mentioned earlier, I spend a great deal of time of Greece and Rome and these units can give a bit more focus that the general world history textbook cannot deliver. Unlike some workbooks which were written by some publisher's hack writer in a dark basement somewhere, Dierckz is a real P.H.D. who has done field work at some of the sites that she mentions in the texts. The writing is at a middle/high school level - not too complex, but not insultingly simplistic either. There are multiple question pages that go with each reading, including everything from one word answers to paragraphs. The readings include such topics as (not the entire list): The Greek and Latin Alphabets, Roman numerals, Common Latin phrases still in use today, Sparta, Athens, The Wars with Persia, Greek Art and Architecture, Alexander the Great, 4 sections on The Roman Republic, 3 sections on the Emperor Period, The Rise and Spread of Christianity, Roman Entertainment, Roman Architecture, The Roman Army and lots of maps. I give this one a grade of B+. Note: there is nothing wrong with the book, I would just reserve the grade of A (5 stars) for a resource that could be a complete stand alone unit, rather than a extremely solid and competent supplement .